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Animation is usually associated with pens, paper, iMacs and hipsters, not cloud computing and desktop virtualisation specialists.

But a tie-up between Citrix and animation technology company Nimble Collective has seen the firms work together to develop a platform that enables the animation community to create and distribute cartoons and animated videos through a cloud service.

Nimble Collective co-founder Jason Schleifer said the cloud platform has been designed to make access to animation technology available to small firms and individuals who don't have the resources of large animation houses.

"It actually takes about 500 artists an entire year to create one hour of animated content, which is amazing. It's incredible that studios can get all those people to work together to create this. It takes extreme collaboration and a lot of infrastructure," he explained.

"But what about the hundred thousand animation students that graduate every year? What about the small teams of people that want to create something and get it out in the world but don't have the resources, money or infrastructure to make that happen?"

Rex Grignon, president of Nimble Collective, outlined the company's ambitions: "We're here to help the small guy, to help independent artists get their film made. That's our mission."

Using Citrix technology, including the firm's WorkspacePod, the Nimble Collective cloud platform allows animators to tap into high-power graphics tools through a web browser rather than having expensive and extensive IT systems located in their workspace.

By using a cloud platform, multiple animators can work together on an film or project without needing to be in the same office or even the same continent.

Once an animation project is compete, it can be easily spread across the world through social networks such as YouTube and Facebook, allowing animators to showcase their work without needing the support of a major film studio.

At Citrix's Synergy 2015 conference in Orlando, Nimble Collective took to the stage during the opening keynote speech and demonstrated how the software works in real time, and presented a short animation based on unusual animal facts, which can be seen in below.